World Food Day: Incatema committed to SDG Zero Hunger

16 October, 2019

World Food Day is celebrated on 16 October in more than 150 countries, since it was proclaimed in 1979 by the United Nations (UN) for the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Since then, its objective has been to generate awareness among the world’s different countries surrounding the world food problem and to promote solidarity in the fight against hunger.

In its drive to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) established in the UN’s 2030 Agenda, Incatema Consulting & Engineering is currently developing the new Binational Market of Ouanaminthe on the border of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, a project which directly contributes to achievement of SDG Zero Hunger, and that will be completed next November.

This project, in the framework of international cooperation actions with EU funding, has a budget of 9 million euros, and is estimated to optimise access to essential goods for the population of Haiti and to favour the reduction of inequality by allowing foods to be supplied. At the same time, it will improve the pressure on the frontier between the Dominican Republic and Haiti, crossed by the latter’s inhabitants since 1993 to obtain basic foods.

As part of the same programme, Incatema Consulting & Engineering has rehabilitated and handed over to the Municipality of Ouanaminthe, the city’s former Municipal Market, whose refurbishment works have involved firming the ground on which it is situated to avoid potential damage in the rainy season, and improvements and reinstatement of the buildings used for the sale of meat, fruit and vegetables, by erecting a new metal structure and modernising the sanitary installations.

Moreover, the company has executed the environmental protection of the river Masacre as it passes through the market of Ouanaminthe, by installing a flood containment wall situated between the two countries.  This riverbank protection work is the result of a hydrological study carried out by the company to determine flood levels, and to avoid the potential breaking of the river’s banks in the rainy season. The Masacre river broke its banks in September 2017, when a swell caused the collapse of the old Aduanas bridge, used for 40 years to connect Haitians and Dominican citizens by land.

The Sustainable Development Goals aim to end all forms of hunger and malnutrition by 2030 and to safeguard equal access to healthy food all year round. This responsibility requires the promotion of sustainable agricultural practices through support for small farmers and equal access to land, technology and markets. To improve agricultural productivity, committed international cooperation is required as it helps to ensure investment in the infrastructure and technology that is needed.